The capture of Latham's horse and the ludicrous affair with him putCalhoun in the best of humor. He reached the house of Mr. Edmunds withoutfurther adventure, and met with a hearty welcome from that gentleman, whoinformed him that his men had lingered a day longer than he had ordered,in the hope that he would return.
After satisfying his hunger, Calhoun bade his kind host good-bye, andwithout trouble reached Morgan's camp that night. Here he was received asone snatched from the jaws of death, for they had given him up as lost.The valuable information which he had collected was forwarded to GeneralBragg, and in due time an acknowledgment was received from that general,warmly congratulating him, and saying he had recommended him for acaptaincy.
It was but a few days after his return that Calhoun was with a regimentreconnoitring near Braddyville, when they were suddenly attacked by awhole brigade of Federal cavalry. The engagement was a spirited one, butowing to the superior numbers of the Federals, the Confederates wereforced to fall back. During the retreat Calhoun with his scouts washolding back the advance of the enemy. They were furiously charged by twocompanies of the Federals, and a hand-to-hand conflict took place. Duringthis combat Calhoun became engaged with a Federal captain, and to hissurprise he saw that his antagonist was Captain Haines. The recognitionwas mutual, and it must have unnerved the hand of the Captain, foralthough but a few feet from Calhoun, he fired and missed him. Before hecould fire again, Calhoun dashed his empty revolver into his face. Theforce of the blow caused him to reel in his saddle, and before he couldrecover, Calhoun had cut him down.
The bloody repulse of these two companies cooled the ardor of theFederals, and the Confederates withdrew without further molestation.
Major Conway noted Calhoun's growing popularity with the command, and hishatred, if possible, grew more bitter. The sting of the blow he hadreceived still rankled in his heart, and he swore sooner or later to havehis revenge. His attempts to assassinate Calhoun in time of battle, so farhad failed, and Calhoun's extreme wariness now usually kept them apartduring an engagement. The crafty Major was busily thinking of some otherscheme by which he could kill Calhoun without bringing suspicion onhimself, when an incident happened which he thought would not only causeCalhoun to die a most disgraceful death, but redound greatly to his owncredit.
Calhoun was out with his scouts when he fell in with a small party of theenemy. As he outnumbered them, he thought their capture was easy. But hewas met with such a rapid and accurate fire that his men were forced tofall back.
"Them Yankees have repeating rifles," growled one of his men, "and theyknow how to shoot."
This was true, and Calhoun was thinking of withdrawing from the fightentirely, when he caught sight of the leader of the Federals. The horsewhich he rode he would know among ten thousand. It was Prince, the famoushorse of his cousin, and the rider must be Fred. Ordering his men to ceasefiring, Calhoun tied a white handkerchief to the point of his sword, androde forward.
Fred, for it was he, rode out to meet him. As soon as he came withinhearing distance, he asked, "Do you surrender?"
"Surrender nothing!" answered Calhoun, a little disgusted. "If you onlyknew how many men I had back there you would think of surrenderingyourself. I simply came out to have a little talk with you."
"Cal, as sure as I live!" exclaimed Fred, and in a moment the two cousinshad each other by the hand, forgetting they were enemies, remembering onlytheir love for each other.
They had much to say to each other, and talked longer than they thought,but were about to part, mutually agreeing to withdraw their men, when theywere startled by the sound of rapid firing. Looking up they saw thatFred's men were being charged by a large force of Confederates. They werein full retreat, firing as they galloped back. Fred was alone in the midstof his enemies.
The Confederates proved to be a full squadron in command of Major Conway.He was accompanied by Captain Mathews. No sooner did they see Fred thanthey shouted in their delight.
"The hoss is mine again!" cried Mathews.
"And this spy and sneak is in my power at last," exclaimed Conway,pointing at Fred; "and what is better I have you, my fine fellow," saidConway, turning to Calhoun. "I have long known that you were holdingtreasonable conferences with the enemy, and have only been waiting forindubitable proof. I have it now.
"Lieutenant," turning to one of his officers, "arrest LieutenantPennington, and on your life see that he does not escape."
The enormity of the charge dumbfounded Calhoun. He could scarcely believehis ears. He began to protest, but was cut short by Conway, who orderedthe Lieutenant to take an escort of ten men and to conduct Calhounstraightway to General Bragg at Tullahoma.
"Tell the General," he said, "that I have positive proof of LieutenantPennington's treasonable intercourse with the enemy. The case is soimportant I thought it best to send the prisoner direct to him. As soon asI see General Morgan I will file formal charges."
The Lieutenant seemed surprised at his orders to take Calhoun direct toBragg, but he said nothing, and choosing his escort, was soon on the wayto Tullahoma with his prisoner.
Major Conway's real object in sending Calhoun to Tullahoma was to bringthe case directly to the notice of General Bragg, and thus compel Morganto take action. He knew that his charge would not be believed in Morgan'scommand, but he would see that there was plenty of evidence at the righttime.
Disarmed, under arrest, charged with the most heinous offence of which anofficer could be guilty, it is no wonder that Calhoun's heart sank withinhim on that dismal journey to Tullahoma.
"Better to have been hanged as a spy by the Federals than to be shot as atraitor by my own men," he muttered to himself. The thought of dying sucha disgraceful death was maddening.
When he arrived at Tullahoma, his reception by General Bragg was notexactly such as he had expected. Bragg was noted as a martinet and a greatstickler for military forms. When the lieutenant who had Calhoun in chargereported to him, and told him the verbal message which Major Conway hadsent, he flew into a furious rage.
"What does Major Conway mean by sending a prisoner to me with such amessage as that?" he sputtered. "What is General Morgan about that he hasnot attended to this, and presented his charges in due form.
"Officer, take the prisoner to General Morgan, and tell Major Conway toread up on army discipline."
If it had endangered his whole army, Bragg would have contended for rigidadherence to military law. When Bragg's order was reported to Calhoun,hope began to revive. Surely Morgan would give him a fair hearing. Everyact he had done in the army would disprove the monstrous charges of MajorConway.
It was with a much lighter heart that he set out for MacMinnville. Butwhen he reached that place he was surprised by the astonishing news thatConway had been shot--killed while in the act of murdering his cousin incold blood.
One of the men who was with Conway at the time was mortally wounded, andconfessed the whole thing. Conway was to prepare a paper which they wereto swear was found on Fred's person, criminating Calhoun. With suchevidence his conviction would have been certain. He thanked God for thedeath of Conway. It meant a thousand times more to him than life, for itkept his name unsullied.
Morgan made a full report of the whole matter to General Bragg. "The plotwas damnable," he wrote, "yet it might have been successful if MajorConway had not met his just deserts. But one might as well accuse me ofholding treasonable communications with the enemy as LieutenantPennington. He is the officer, as you may remember, that entered Nashvillea short time since, and sent you such a valuable report. Moreover, he isthe very officer I have chosen to look into that matter which we havediscussed so much. I expect to send him North next week."
Thus was Calhoun fully exonerated, and not only that, but he was to bechosen for a most important mission. He also had the satisfaction ofseeing Morgan make Captain Mathews return Fred his horse, much to theCaptain's disgust. But what was the important duty upon which Calhoun wasto be sent North? He had heard nothing o
f it before.
Some time before the Hon. C. L. Vallandigham, a noted Democraticpolitician of Ohio, and an ex-member of Congress, had been arrested at hishome in Dayton for treason. He was tried by military court-martial, foundguilty, and banished South. The excitement was intense. Thousands of hisfriends rallied to his defence, and at one time it looked as if thestreets of Dayton would run red with blood. His friends were in openrevolt against the government, and opposed the prosecution of the war.
Before this numerous reports had reached the South of the dissatisfactionof a large number of the Democratic party with Lincoln, especially withhis proclamation freeing the slaves. They were sick and tired of the war,and were more than willing to give the South her independence. They wereready to force Lincoln to do this. A secret society, known as the Knightsof the Golden Circle, existed throughout the North, and was most numerousin the states of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. The purpose of this societywas to resist the draft, encourage desertions from the army, embarrass thegovernment in every way possible, and if necessary resort to arms. Alreadynumerous small encounters had taken place between the Knights and themilitia of these states.
It was the boast of the Knights that they had a quarter of a million menarmed and drilled, ready to take the field. If a Confederate force wouldonly invade the North, their ranks would be augmented by these thousands.It was to investigate these reports and find out the truth that Calhounwas to be sent North.
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